US journalist: Russia prepared to use tactical nuclear weapons against NATO in Baltic war

HELSINKI, Sep 12, STT-BNS - Russia privately warned U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis that if there was a war in the Baltics, Russia would not hesitate to use small tactical nuclear weapons against NATO, U.S. journalist Bob Woodward writes in his new book.

Woodward does not say who of the representatives of Russia said this to Mattis and in what context.

He nevertheless writes that Mattis considers Russia a threat to the existence of the United States. Woodward does not say what U.S. President Donald Trump thinks of Mattis' vision.

The Russian military doctrine foresees that nuclear weapons can be used to a limited extent when fending off an attack carried out with conventional weaponry.

Woodward's book "Fear" focuses on Trump's election campaign in the 2016 presidential elections and his term of office so far.